The places around Pondicherry are Auroville, Matri Mandir,
Villiayanur, Gingee, Pichchavaram, Poompuhar, Mamallapuram,
Karaikal, Nagore, Tranquebar, Velankanni and Chidambaram.
All these above mentioned places are tourist spots and they
have a historic past in them.

Auroville
This is an International and a Utopian city which is ten
kilometers away from Pondicherry. This was founded by Mother
Mirra Alfassa, the chief disciple of Sri Aurobindo. This
place was designed by the French architect Roger Anger. This
is the city of Dawn. The people worked hard to make this
wasteland a lush

green field.Today it is a jungle with criss cross paths. The
city sprawls over an area of 25 Square Kilometres. One third
of the population is community people and the remaining are
farmers. The activities of the natives are afforestation,
organic culture, educational research, health care, etc. at
present there are 1500 people from nearly 30 countries. The
people are from India (33%), French (18%) and Germans (15%).

Matri MandirThis is a spiritual and a physical centre. It is a
testimonial to The Mother’s vision of unity and harmony to
mankind. The remarkable monument in the form of a massive
golden globe is a place for quite reflection and
concentration. The inner sanctuary, unlike the traditional
temple, does not enshrine an image of the mother but has an
abstract representation of her notion of spirituality
rendered in light and glass.
VillianurSri Gokilambal Thirukameshwara Temple at Villianur is
ten kilometers away from Pondicherry. It is noted for its
fine architecture. The annual Temple car festival held on
full moon day in the month of May-June attracts large number
of devotees. The huge chariot is taken out during this time
for procession. High officials take part in this car
festival which is a grand one.
GingeeThis historical town is famous for the 700 year old fort
sprawling over three hillocks. The fort is said to be built
by the Kone Chiefs and remained the strong hold of the
Vijayanagar Kings, Marathas, Mughals, Carnatic Nawabs, The
French and The British. The fort gained popularity under
Raja Desingh, the army chief of Nawab of Arcot. Within the
fort there are two temples, a mosque and several interesting
structures.

PichchavaramThe exotic and popular tourist site on the backwaters
interconnected by the Vellar and Kollidam system is 16
kilometers away from Chidambaram. The unique mangrove
forests sprawling over an area of 28,000 acres are quite
rare and are rated among the healthiest mangrove occurrences
in the world. This is a beautiful place to watch.

Poompuhar
This ancient port town is 35 kilometers from Pondicherry.
This was the major town of the Cholas. The original town
lies submerged in the sea and is of great

archaeological value. The excavations conducted here has
revealed valuable information about the town planning,
buildings, and sculptures, etc. the existence of ring wells
near the sea shore which have been described in the Sangam Literature are
quite interesting. Interesting sites are Sillapathikara Art
Gallery, ancient Thirupallavanees-waram Temple, etc.

MamallapuramThis historic sea-side resort is an open air museum
displaying legacy of the Pallava architecture. It is also
known for its natural beauty, vast stretch of glorious sandy
beach, and delicious sea food. The world famous shore temple
here is one of the oldest temples in the south and has been
listed among the world heritage sites of UNESCO. The unique
temple was built during the seventh century during the reign
of Rajasimha. The five Rathas, Arjuna’s penance 14 caves and
mandapams and sculpture museum along the beach side are
found here.

KaraikalThis small enclave in Tamilnadu is one of the four
districts of the Union Territory. It is about 300 kilometers
south of Chennai and 135 kilometers away from Pondicherry on
the east coast. Karaikal is known for its rich religious
heritage and is ideally suited for visitors seeking
solitude, leisure and serenity. The town is also noted for
its distinct French flavour. It is well connected by road
and the nearest airport and railway are Tiruchirapalli and
Nagore respectively. The other places to watch in Karaikal
are Lord Dharbaraneswaran Temple, Thirunallar, Karaikal
Ammaiyar Temple, Jadaayupureeswarar Temple, T.R.Pattinam,
Masthan Saheb Durgah, Our Lady Angels Church and Karaikal
Beach.

The other places around Karaikal are Nagore, Tranquebar,
Velankanni, and Chidambaram. These places are all religious
and historical places. These places belong to the state of
Tamilnadu. Thus to sum up Pondicherry is one of the
treasures to India when comes to tourists spots. It is due
to the economy, the facilities and the peaceful situations
people abroad select such towns and cities to visit and
enjoy. Not only do people enjoy they do learn a lot about
the land, the people, the culture, the languages and finally
get influenced by the conditions which are suitable for
them. Pondicherry is surely a boon to India. One can say
that it is because of the French rule and the culture that
those people made the people adapt to the foreign culture
and things have become easier and finer to both the people
throughout the territory as well as for the tourists.